Union Look to Quash Revolution

Union Look to Quash Revolution

The Union, unbeaten over their last four games, are in New England tonight where they'll face the Revolution (7PM/Comcast SportsNet). The Revs sit in last place in the Eastern Conference with 16 points from 18 games. The Union enter play a point behind New York for first place in the conference.

This will be the third and final game of a three game road trip for the Union. They've earned a point in each of the first two stops on the trip - a 2-2 draw at D.C. and a 0-0 draw at San Jose.

New England will be without midfield stalwart Shalrie Joseph, who
will miss the game due to yellow card accumulation. New England will
have Benny Feilhaber, who the Union passed over back in April when the
US international was available via the allocation draft.

Tonight is the start of a very busy week for the Union, who will host
Everton on Wednesday at PPL Park and then Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid
squad at the Linc on Saturday.

Obviously, picking up the three points tonight is and should be Peter Nowak's priority. Yes, playing host to an EPL and La Liga side is glamorous, but the goal remains to qualify for the MLS playoffs.

Gabriel Farfan did a nice job stepping into the left back spot against San Jose, which Jordan Harvey had on lock prior to being dealt to Vancouver. I think most Union fans expect another shoe to drop as it relates to the left back spot at some point soon - particularly with the MLS transfer window now being open.

Stefani Miglioranzi also did a nice job filling the void left by Carlos Valdes, who did not travel to San Jose last week due to illness. It appears as if Valdes will return to the lineup alongside Danny Califf in the center of the Union back line.

Following the San Jose game Nowak expressed his displeasure with the play of Keon Daniel and Justin Mapp. Perhaps as a result Daniel will return to the substitutes bench. Personally, I like Daniel's ability to inject life into the game with his pace off of the bench.

Final Score Prediction: This a rare instance where the Union should expect to pick up the three points on the road. I'd imagine the coaching staff has been admonishing the players to focus on New England and not look ahead to the two upcoming friendlies. Union win it 1-0.

The Toni Stahl Memorial Union Player Most Likely To See Red: Brian Carroll, who will be charged with tracking Feilhaber all day.

Matt Rhule's first Baylor hires include 4 Temple assistants

Matt Rhule's first Baylor hires include 4 Temple assistants

WACO, Texas -- New Baylor coach Matt Rhule has made some immediate Texas connections by hiring the president of the state's high school coaches who is a former Bears receiver.

Rhule announced his first five hires with the Bears on Friday, three days after being named Baylor's coach. They include four members from his staff at Temple and David Wetzel, the head coach and athletic director the past 13 seasons at Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio.

Sean Padden will serve as Baylor's director of football operations, similar to his role at Temple the past four years.

Rhule didn't immediately announce the titles and job duties for Wetzel, Francis Brown, Mike Siravo and Evan Cooper. There was also no indication of when the rest of his staff would be completed.

Brown and Siravo were defensive assistants at Temple, and Cooper was director of player personnel for the Owls.

Wetzel, who has coached in the state high school ranks for 25 years, was serving as president of the Texas High School Football Coaches Association. He lettered at Baylor in 1990 and 1991 while playing for Grant Teaff, and also earned a master's degree from the school in 1994. Before Reagan, he was head coach at schools in Killeen and Austin.

Wetzel told the Waco Tribune-Herald that he expects to play a major role in recruiting, but didn't know yet if he'd be coaching offense or defense.

"Given the opportunity, it's really a unique deal," Wetzel told the newspaper. "I feel like it's God's timing for me to be in the right place at the right time."

When Rhule was introduced Wednesday in Waco, he said he had already received about 480 text messages, many from coaches. He also didn't rule out the possibility of some of the current Baylor assistants staying, but said he hadn't had a chance to meet with them. Those assistants were retained from former coach Art Briles' staff with Jim Grobe as acting head coach this season.

NoteBaylor announced Friday that Jalen Pitre, a defensive back from Stafford, Texas, signed a financial aid agreement that will allow him to enroll for the spring 2017 semester after graduating from high school early. Before Rhule was hired, Pitre was the only player verbally committed for Baylor's recruiting class in February. He had 83 tackles, six interceptions and four forced fumbles as a senior.

Dorial Green-Beckham didn't support any charity with his cleats last Sunday.

In reality, he was funding the NFL.

The Eagles' receiver was fined $6,076 by the NFL for wearing Yeezy cleats (Kanye West's shoes), which had no affiliation to a charitable organization or cause, CSNPhilly.com has confirmed. Players around the NFL last weekend wore decorative spikes supporting a charity or cause they felt passionately about as part of the league's My Cleats, My Cause promotion. Green-Beckham was fined because his cleats were unapproved by the league; earlier this season Houston receiver DeAndre Hopkins was fined for wearing Yeezy cleats.